SENIA SPAIN The Ancient Olive Trees of the Territorio Sénia project was born as a response to the high concentration of ancient olive trees in the area and the need to preserve them as a very important part of its cultural, historical, landscape, agricultural and environmental heritage. The Mancomunidad Taula del Sénia, a local public entity formed by 27 Valencian, Catalan and Aragoneses town councils with more than 111,000 inhabitants in 2,070 km2 joined forces in 2006 with the Territorio Sénia Association. Together, the public and private sectors are conserving all the ancient olive trees of the Territorio Sénia in order to make this entire initiative a sustainable and resilient practice. An oil brand was created to control production of certified oil from ancient olive trees. A holistic, cross-sectorial project now preserves the trees and deals with oil production, tourism, cultural and educational activities and more, to make the trees a symbol of the territory and drive sustainable development. The most important asset of this project is that the culture surrounding the oil, local products and new economic activities have created jobs and slowed down depopulation. Heritage as an engine for sustainable development What? 37